Thelania: Assault of the Strifesworn (Closed For Now)

[Kail Tribal]

= Vincent Arwel =

= The Cursed Hunter =

Vincent stood and watched silently, raising an eyebrow as Adelina suddenly leaned so closely to Eoforhild to whisper her new orders. Clearing his throat it seemed as though any number of inappropriate comments could have left his mouth but Eoforhild's statement distracted him. "Oooh! Oooh!" he began to hop up and down before he heard her following statement. "How did you know? That's exactly what I was going to ask." he told her with a grin, raising his hands infront of him calmly. "Easy lass, I know when to hang back and take things easy. Actually, it's what I do best." he commented with a faint chuckle before preparing to follow Eoforhild to Nayavere.

[Literary_Method]

Artym Kay

Artym grimaced as Arina continued to talk. The act of keeping the shield up was taking away from his body's natural ability to heal, if this encounter didn't end soon things would indeed be dire. He didn't let the elf's words get to him though. He could waste time explaining his point of view but that would merely leave him open to further attack. Instead he turned his thoughts toward a plausible method of escape giving Arina only enough of his attention to know if she was attacking again. The seconds dragged by and Arina proved to be smarted than she first appeared. A sharpened root burst from the ground within the circle and skewered Artym's free hand. He reacted quickly, grabbing the root with his bloodied hand and sent a withering spell through the plant.

Catrina's words drew his attention away from the attacking vegetation. If what she said was true he had made a terrible mistake. The demon held within Catrina was certainly dangerous but her young body had contained it without giving the creature any additional powers or abilities. By exorcising the demon instead of just killing both host and parasite Artym had given it the opportunity to infect an even more powerful host. He cursed his stupidity under his breath.

“I'm afraid I might not have any choice.” He called back to Catrina, his voice sounding shaky and weak. “If what you say is true I cannot exorcise the shadow as I did with you. If I do it will merely take another innocent person and I cannot allow that to happen.” As he spoke Artym pulled his arm away from his abdomen and started to alter the barrier with his uninjured hand. The shield faded as the ring changed shape and the runes reorganized themselves. The realignment finished just in time and Artym ignited the shield once again as Arina thrust her spear. Blue light and dark energy crackled and sputtered as the opposing forces tried to overcome one another. “If I die you are coming with me.” Artym spat but his words rang hollow even to him. After the roots Artym had fallened to his knees again; he looked to be on the verge of collapse. The new shield he had erected would better defend him and use his magic more efficiently but he was still running out of time.

Justin's distant call seemed almost unreal to Artym and he was unsure at first if he had even heard it at all. Then he saw the knight approaching and felt a thrill of hope flow through him.
“Beware ser knight! The elf girl is possessed by a demon!” Artym tried to call out but his voice cracked and failed after the word 'knight'.

[Star Shuutaa]

. : Ｃ Ｏ Ｃ Ｏ : .
~ the wind wanderer ~

Once everyone began getting food and making themselves comfortable, Coco waited until they were content before getting anything for herself, watching for a moment as Enaia stuck herself to Drythe like glue, being completely cutesy. A frown touched her face for a moment before she let it go and picked at some of the food. It was delicious, the best home cooked food she had tasted in awhile. Traveling a lot, she didn't have the ability to sit and make such lavish dishes, so when she was offered to help herself, she obliged.

She listened to them chatter a bit among each other about things she wasn't really paying attention to until Divona began to lead them out the door of the kitchen around the house. Coco hung back a moment to grab some desserts to-go, giving Divona's mother another compliment before following out after the others. Purposely, she lagged herself behind to give each room consideration before moving on, her eyes tracing the decorations with content. Already before they got too far she had decided on being in the sun room. She would go back once the tour was finished.

As she climbed the stairs, the group that had followed were already making their way down the hallway. Coco licked the last bits of dessert from her fingers as she quietly walked, but stopped the moment she heard the quiet crying coming from one of the doorways. Ears twitching a moment, she eased her way silently up to it before poking a cautious eye in to see who it was. Cyneward was sitting on the bed, his head hung with something in his hands. It took her a moment of staring to recognize it.

"The flag of Feora." Coco stated lightly, stepping into the doorway of the guest room a bit. If he demanded she leave, she'd leave. Curiosity was in her about the half-demon, though she moved no further toward him, instead choosing to stand still. Her tail hung down curled at her feet. She concluded easily enough that he was from Feora, and the remains that she had passed by told her that he was there when it happened. That was one thing she wanted to know, what happened to Feora, but she would not press. She was not only a guest in someone else's house, but a stranger to them. Hell, she even wondered if he'd talk to her. "You are a young knight of Feora, no?"

[Laureli ObsidianFang]

Eoforhild Algoran

Eoforhild raised a brow a little at Vincent's apparent excitability but made no comment on it, instead giving a mild nod as he explained he would not have a problem with avoiding conflict in Nayavere. "Then you may accompany me." she said eying him for a moment before she spoke again, "You may ride or walk, the choice is yours but make it quickly, I would like for us to depart soon." she said, Hererinc shuffling around a little and raking the ground with a hoof in a somewhat impatient manner. If the dhampir was planning to ride with her then she would help him up onto the saddle, if not he could walk behind her, though he would likely be left a bit behind since she would be trying to get there as soon as she could. Snorting, the boar shifted a bit more and Evie patting his side a little, relaxing the impatient beast a bit as she awaited the mans decision regarding method of travel, the Elmhold flag fluttering lightly in a breeze, its golden embroidered shield catching in the sunlight occasionally.

[Laureli ObsidianFang]

Denerius Belfore

Denerius had eventually left the little copse where the three had been having their discussion, he'd been a little uncertain what to do with himself for a while and so he'd settled down beside one of the many streams that ran through Nayavere's lands and contemplated matters for a while in quiet. Eventually he'd moved from the stream and begun to wander the town a little, stopping to spend his very last coins buying two new throwing knives to replace the ones he'd lost in the battle of Feora. He'd spotted Cyneward and some others heading toward the large house across from the mill, some of the face he did not recognize, but he was certain he would meet them all in due time, for now he wanted a while longer to himself and so he didn't follow. Instead he continued his casual meander around town, getting a feel for the place until his thoughts were interrupted by the distant sound of screaming, it seemed like most people hadn't heard over the hustle and bustle of their daily lives, but his keen hearing had caught it faintly. A few moments later the knight who had arranged their escape from Feora was headed in the direction he'd heard it and he found himself quickly following after the man. The scene that they arrived on was a confusing one in many regards, Artym was quite injured, being attack not by the wicked girl as one might have initially suspected, but in fact by the healer. The girl now looked much older, though still similar enough that he could make out her identity quickly enough, the elven woman who had been so reluctant to do any harm to the girl was now apparently attempting to spear Artym. To top it all off, the girl now grown woman who had been trying to kill them back in Feora was no apparently attempting to stop Arina from stabbing the older man through his wards. "Artym? What the hell..?!" the green haired man exclaimed in confusion but drew his dagger. The full situation was certainly unknown to him, but right now is seemed obvious enough that if they were going to get any of this figured out then they would need to subdue Arina to keep her from killing the man. Narrowing his yellow eyes at the woman he prepared himself to dive into the fray and help get her off of Artym, the knight had called for them all to halt, but he somehow doubted that this woman no suddenly on an apparent killing rampage was going to politely stop just because she was asked, still he gave a moment for her to do so just in case.

[Nightmares_Shadow13]

~Letting the Monster Rise~

The situation was getting worse and worse by the second. Every attack that Arina seemed to draw upon was hitting, this was not good. Catrina tried to think of something, but she wasn't sure exactly what she could do. She didn't want to hurt anyone and with more people coming towards them, Catrina moved away as little, trying to shrink away in her own little way, though she kept her eyes on Arina. It was then that both of the men that had been approaching them had called out something or another. She hadn't been paying all that much attention to them, though she gasped as she saw Artym drop before something that she hadn't seen before happened. The healer stopped in her place as she turned to see the knight who had called out ot the to stop.

Upon hearing the knight's words, Arina cursed under her breath. She couldn't have people thinking that she was evil, not yet, and with what all had happened, she had thought up of the perfect ploy. As soon as she watched the mage drop to the ground, Arina let out a blood curtlingly shriek before she let her body fall limp and her eyes roll back. For all intent and purposes, she looked as though she passed out as some of the shadows started to ooze from her body, making it look as though it was leaving her for some reason or another. Truth was, now her soul bore the taint of darkness, so now she would be a shadowling until someone would be able to cleanse the soul. As she fell to the ground, Arina could hear Catrina cry out as she had then ran to the woman and put her head on her lap, trying to wake her up and fearing for the worst.

While Catrina tried to wake up the healer, she paid no mind to the darkness oozing out of the elf woman. She had a feeling it wouldn't stick to her anymore so she held no fear for it. "Please, someone help her. And we need someone to help that man over there too. He needs his wounds treated right away." She cried out as she looked around at all the faces. She was afraid that she had wronged each of the people. She had no right to ask for their help. She looked down at Arina, not sure if it would be safe to move the healer in the state that she was.

[Connecto Prease]

< Sir Justin Ramarith >
< O >
< Righteous Phoenix >

Justin reached the suspicious activity in the field a few moments after both Artym and Arina collapsed. Even though the situation seemed to have neutralised itself, there was still the not-so-small matter of what had caused the incident in the first place. He slowed himself to a stop as he got close enough to inspect what had happened. These were all people that had come here from the Feora rescue mission. Though he recognised the one girl, Catrina, he wasn't sure where from. Completely unaware that she was the unconscious little girl earlier in the day.

He grimaced inwardly at the idea that the people he rescued were going to be nothing but trouble, he narrowed his eyes, directing his unimpressed expression at all who were present, even the unconscious.

"Before I do anything. Explain to me what happened here." He glanced back to Artym, it was true that the man did need immediate medical attention. But he would have to wait until Justin received an adequate explanation as to what was going on in his town, and if there was any hint of wrong-doing involved, he would be on his own. The same went for the healer, too. Though, it wasn't as if he was about to trust the words of the young girl entirely, but it would help him shape his decision.

[Connecto Prease]

- Drythe Hallover -
- [X] -
- Repentant Catastrophe -

Drythe found himself reassured that it was okay for him to have some food one one hand, and with a plate shoved into the other. He bowed his head in thanks and timidly took a hold of a small meat pie, which he chose because he'd seen Cyneward eat one and enjoy it. He took a small bite and then placed the rest on the plate to eat at his own pace. It was only a tiny pie, but he had a feeling that it would sate him for now.

Though saying that, he almost spat out what he was currently eating when Enaia challenged him about what he had said to Cyneward in an attempt to make light conversation. He noticed Cyneward's strange reaction, he really wasn't like himself at all and this worried Drythe. All worries aside, he decided that he should try to speak to his friend when he got the chance. This decision was made while flailing in a panic at the small cat girl.

"N-No! No! That's not it at all! It's just that there were never many girls in the village where I grew up, I-It's new to me!" He cried as he followed her, and everyone else, on Divona's tour of the house. He made a mental note of where Cyneward stopped off, and told himself to visit later.

[Literary_Method]

Artym Kay

At last the ordeal seemed to be over and Artym let his shield collapse and keeled over sideways. He was beyond tired and his head would not stop spinning. All around him he could hear different voices talking but it was as if he was hearing them through a thick wall. He knew the muffled sounds were important but his mind could no longer wrap itself around complex ideas. He also knew that he was going into hypovolemic shock and if he didn't DO something about it he would probably die. That was the main point really, do something or die. Unfortunately Artym had only one idea and it was not a pleasant course of action. In his current state the only thing he could personally do to save his own life would be to perform a flash healing. The spell was truly a tactic of last resort and viewed as crude or even barbaric by the healers back in Feythabolis. After all there was nothing quite like using magical fire to cauterize a wound from the inside! However since no one seemed to be rushing to his aid Artym didn't have much choice and frankly a few scars were better than bleeding to death.

Artym's arms felt like lead but he dragged his hands to his abdomen and did his best to brace himself for what was probably going to be his first and last self flash healing. He took a deep breath, let it out and then mumbled the activation word. The effect was instantaneous. Pain roared through him causing the mage to writhe in the grass as the multiple stab wounds in his abdomen sizzled audibly for a few seconds. The frost root extract Artym had taken earlier did absolutely nothing to dull the agony in his stomach and thigh. Thankfully the spell only took a few seconds to do its work.

It would, however, take a few minutes for Artym to recover sufficiently from the exertion to talk with the others.

[Kail Tribal]

- Cyneward Atreus -

- The Last Paladin -

Cyneward jumped a little as he heard the sound of Coco's voice, hastily pulling himself from his tears and holding back more sobs as he turned to her, though held his arm infront of his face, before 'discreetly' wiping away his tears with a sniffle. She noted the flag he held, and then asked if he was a young knight of Feora. The youthful, cocky knight within him saw an opportunity and for the sake of appearing less depressed and more like he was fine he gave it that chance, rising to his feet swiftly and striking a heroic pose, managing the best grin that was often expected of him, giving a triumphant laugh that was believable enough. "Hahah, I am no ordinary knight, ma'am! I am a paladin, Feora's chosen! The best of..." he trailed off, the bravado that used to be constantly in his voice fading notably. His grin swiftly faded, his eyes betraying the emotion that overwhelmed him so as his arms fell limply to his sides.

"...Oh, to the underworld with it..." he mumbled, turning his head slightly as he found it difficult to look the red-haired woman in the eye, mostly due to his lost pride. "I...am indeed a knight, Miss Coco...but I am far from the best example. All of those died back in Feora." he told her truthfully. Raising the hand that held the broken flag of his home, he looked down upon the emblem upon it. "I had hoped to return this flag to my home as I proudly reclaimed it for my people, however...I am beginning to believe that perhaps someone like Sir Ramarith would be better suited to such a task." he told the woman, his mind filled with doubt and his heart heavy with sorrow before he turned to look at her with an apologetic expression. "Ah, my apologies. We only recently met and I'm babbling about my own problems. I know everyone else has their own difficulties too, it is disrespectful of me to focus so much on mine. Even more so to burden a new companion along with me. Please, think nothing of what I've said. It...is not important." he told Coco, giving a faint smile to the catgirl. The moment he was done talking to those who wished to speak with him, he intended to go straight back to crying.

[Laureli ObsidianFang]

Enaia Laeshunn

Enaia gave a soft giggle at Drythe as he panicked a bit, thinking that she was getting the wrong sort of impression about him from his comment to Cyneward, "So you do like girls then?" she asked, now obviously playfully teasing the man. The little catgirl was following along with everyone else, watching where people decided to stop and relax she found herself still uncertain of where to go in the big house. After a moment of consideration she decided to take Drythe somewhere to keep her company, she had two choices at the top of her lips, Divona's bedroom since Cyneward had gone to the guest room, or the study. On the one hand the study had lots of books and was the sort of place she'd find herself feeling most at home, but on the other hand the bedroom would possibly be an amusing choice to tease the man with a bit. Finally making up her mind she reached out to grab Drythe's wrist gently in her free hand, still carrying her plate of food in the other one she beamed up at the man, "Let's go in here!" she said enthusiastically before she started to pull him toward the study, deciding to give him a bit of a break from uncomfortable situations since he'd seemed quite uncomfortable enough from the start. When she pulled him in she pushed the door most of the way shut though not all the way so as not to seem too private before she turned and moved to plop down in one of the two chairs that sat in the room, pushing aside a stack of books on the desk in front of her to set down her plate. Picking up a piece of her food and giving Drythe a friendly smile, "Go ahead, sit down and relax." she said, nodding toward the other chair before she took a small bite and made a few pleased noises at the quality of the meal. Divona's mother was certainly an excellent cook, and it had been a fair while since the pink haired girl had had any sort of home cooked meal so she savored it while she could, taking her time and enjoying each bite, open to conversation should Drythe want it, but actually not pestering the young man either.

[Laureli ObsidianFang]

Denerius Belfore

Denerius watched in bewilderment as Arina actually stopped her assault on Artym when Ramarith told them all to halt, he certainly hadn't been expecting that, but then again to be fair with this bizarre of a situation it was quite hard to know just what to expect. The knight seemed intent on finding out what had happened before he tended to anyone but that would likely prove rather difficult with the healer now apparently unconscious as a blackness oozed from her and Artym bleeding so severely he didn't look like he'd last much longer. The only course that left for information was Cat and like hell he was going to just take her word for it about what had happened here, he didn't trust her anymore now than he had to begin with. "You can't get answers if they're dead." he said with annoyance at the knight, sheathing his dagger and moving toward Artym to check on the man. He halted for a moment part way there as the man began to writhe on the ground and his wounds sizzled, Denerius was completely uncertain of what had just happened but of the people involved in this situation Artym had the most trust from him at the moment, so he was concerned for the man. Rushing over to kneel beside him grabbing a hold of the mans hand in a tight grasp, "Hang in there, stay with me." he said, his voice as serious as always though he tried to sound encouraging as he clasped the mans hand like a brother might. Looking across at Ramarith the green haired man called over to him, "How about we take the three of them somewhere out of the public eye, you can get your answers when they're all able to speak." he suggested, Looking back to Artym as the man recovered a little. "Are you alright to move now?" he asked glancing over at Arina and Cat to glare at them a little suspiciously, still uncertain what had happened.

[Nightmares_Shadow13]

~Catrina Walker~

Catrina sat there quietly and watched as the others came closer and bit her lip a little. She didn't know exactly what happened. All she knew was something had taken over her body, Artym had exorcised it out of her and then it inhabited the body of Arina causing her to attack Artym. She wasn't sure if that was all that had happened, but that's all she remembered. She remained quiet for quite a long time, trying to gather her wits about her as she then watched, it seemed Artym had a trick up his sleeve to heal his wounds, or at least to stop the bleeding. She felt terrible for what had happened.

Taking a deep breath, the girl finally decided to answer Justin's question. At least, to the best of her ability. "Um, it's not really either of their faults. You see, a long while ago, something took hold of my mind and body, I was essentially a monster. I must have done something to wrong, I think they called him Artym, but I think he aimed to kill me, but he ended up exorcising the evil out of me. He should've killed me though, then maybe this wouldn't have happened. Whatever was in me, it took over the healer over there. It drove her mad and caused her to attack him. I'm not exactly sure what just happened, maybe it couldn't get a hold on her, but she just passed out as it oozed out of her and back to the shadows. I'm sorry, I know it's not the best explanation, but it's all I can remember. Please don't punish them, they weren't trying to cause any problems." Catrina almost seemed to beg for lenience for Arina and Artym as tears started to well up in her eyes. She felt terrible for the whole ordeal. She wished that there was something that she could have done to keep it from happening, but alas, it looked as though there was no way to take it back now.

[Star Shuutaa]

. : Ｃ Ｏ Ｃ Ｏ : .
~ the wind wanderer ~

She eyed him carefully as he spoke, watching his visible shift in demeanor and speaking in a distant voice. The faint smile that touched his face when he was done with it all struck a painful cord inside her, and she let out a soft sigh.

"You say it is unimportant, but you are notably burdened by it. I think that if anyone should raise the flag it is you, and I bet Sir Ramarith knows it, too. ... There is nothing wrong with wanting to unload a bit of the burden, isn't that what traveling with companions is all about? So you help each other though the thick and thin." Said the girl who traveled alone, shouldering all her own problems. The difference, though, was that she had been doing it for so long, she herself forgot how to. That didn't stop her from wanting to see that Cyneward didn't have to. If he questioned why she, herself, did not travel with others, she would merely smile and brush it away. Her intentions were her own.

From the way he spoke at first, she could tell that he was a truly friendly guy, someone you'd want to hang around (despite the cocky attitude). Coco knew how lonely going the road by yourself is, but she already knows how to cope with it. This young man though had gone through something terrible, probably something beyond what happened to Feora, but it was not her place to pry. His eyes betrayed his feelings. "You shouldn't let your doubts eat at you so much... you'll start to forget how to have that knightly resolve, and then Feora will really be lost..." And as she trailed off, she turned to leave him to his thoughts.

For a moment, she contemplated if it was too harsh of a thing to say to him, but if he wasn't shaken now his journey would only be harder. As she made her way to the sun room, Coco changed routes and went outside to sit in the sun, a breeze playing with her hair as she made her way over to a very large tree. She did not sit in it's shade, opting instead to sit outside of it. Something about what she had said to Cyneward was bothering her, her eyes closing in thought as she sat in the sun.

[Wildear19]

Nazerene St. Claire

Ever the light casts a shadow
Ever the night springs from the light

The city, her part of it at any rate, was blessedly still, quiet, peaceful and as calm as the tomb. Nazerene moved through the bright above world, her yellow eyes not really looking for anything in particular, just scanning each and every burnt home, store front, and web covered alleyway. Something finally caught the attention of the vampire queen, something lying forgotten on the burnt planks of a store front. It was a small object, Nazerene bent, her black dress swaying in the sterile air. The object in question was a small, half burnt teddy bear. Nazerene stroked the child’s toy with one finger. She once had such a thing, once before her own life had been raped from her. Nazerene stared at it, its tiny black buttoned eyes staring back up at her bright yellow ones. A single tear, perhaps of regret fell from one eye as she held the toy to her un-beating black heart. She pocked it soon after and sighing turned and started to head back towards the chuch that would bring her back to the underground kingdom that she ruled…


(( I LIVE!!! scream ))